Twisting and winding machine



Jan. 12, 1932. E. w. STONE TWISTING AND WINDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-$heet 1 Fi led Oct. 11. 1930 lliisw Ql-iiii //v VENTOR ATTORNEY E. W. STON E TWISTING AND WINDIN G MACHINE Jan. 1219312.

Filed Oct. 11., 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VENTOI? wwm ATTORNEY g for that spindle.

Patented Jan. 12, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWIN W. STONE, OF LONGMEADOW, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO BIGELOW-SANFORD CARPET CO. INC., OF THOMPSONVILLE, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- CHUSETTS TWISTING- AND WINDING MACHINE Application filed October 11, 1930. Serial No. 488,044.

This invention relates to a combined twister and winder whereinthe required number of yarn ends are drawn forward from a source of supply and are twisted together to form a several ply yarn that is wound on a rotating spool or other yarn carrier.

Twisting and winding frames are usually provided with a relatively large number of spindles, and it is important to stop the operation of a spindle when any one of the several yarn ends being wound thereupon breaks, for if this is not done a thin or defective ply yarn will be produced. It is also desirable that means be provided for automatically stopping the particular spindle which is not winding properly without disturbing the winding operation of the other spindles.

The features of the present invention are shown in connection with a ring twister employing a ring and traveler for imparting the desired twists to the several ply yarn. The winding spindle is therefore driven at a predetermined high speed while the means for advancing the several yarn ends froln a source of supply towards the twisting means is driven at a suficiently slower speed to cause the desired number of twists to be imparted to the several ply yarn. Under these conditions it is important to stop the advancing movement of the several yarn ends forming a multiply yarn when one of these yarn endsbrealcs, and this is accomplished in accordance with the present invention by stopping both the spindle and the yarn advancing means that supplies yarn to that spindle.

One important feature of the present invention therefore-resides in means controlled by theindividual yarn ends and adapted to stop both the winding spindle and yarn advancing means when any one of the several yarn ends forming a ply yarn breaks;

Another important feature of the present invention resides in a winding machine having a separate motor for driving each spindle whereby the operation of any one spindle may be controlled independently of the other spindles by starting-and stoppingv the motor A further feature of the presentinvention resides in electrical means for controlling the operation of each spindle and the cooperating yarn advancing means, and in a drop wire for each yarn end and operable through the electrical means to stop the winding operation when one of the several yarns forming a ply yarn breaks.

A further feature of the present invention resides in brake means for quickly bringing a spindle to rest when the current to its driving motor is out off.

A more specific feature of the invention resides in toggle connections movable to one position to start the winding spindle and yarn advance means and to a second position to stop both the spindle and yarn advancing means, and in electrical means including a solenoid for shifting said toggle when a yarn end breaks.

Other features of the invention and novel combination of parts in addition to the above,

will be hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one good practical form of the invention.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a sectional perspective View of a twisting and winding machine embodying the features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of toggle operating mechanism to be described.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View through the machine of Fig. 1.

F ig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the electric connections to be described.

WVhile some of the features of the present invention may be applied to various types of winding machines the invention relates more particularly to twisting and winding machines employing the ring type of twist-' ing mechanism and the invention is therefore illustrated in connection with a winding machine employing the ring type of twister.

The operating parts of the machine may be supported by any suitable frame consisting of the end sections 1 to which are secured the longitudinally extending beams or rails 2, 3, 4, and 5, of suitable length to. accommodate the desired number of winding spindles.

In accordance with the present invention each spindle 6 is directly driven by a small electric motor 7 the operating parts of which are enclosed in a casing as shown to exclude dirt, dust and lint therefrom, and each motor casing is rigidly secured to the supporting rail 2 by the clamping means best shown in Fig. 3 and which consists of the downwardly extended bolt 8 which is provided with a clamping nut 9 and between the lower face of the rail 2 and the nut 9 is confined one or more washers 10. The spindle 6 is shown as adapted to receive the spool 11 the upper end of which is preferably smaller than the lower end to facilitate the unwinding of the yarn from the spool. The spindle 6 is preferably directly secured to the spindle or shaft of the motor 7 and the spindle is shown as provided near its lower end with an enlarged portion or plate 12 which constitutes a seat for the lower end of the spool 11 and this plate is preferably provided with a key 13 adapted to enter a correspondingly shaped notch in the head of the spool so as to positively drive the spool from the spindle.

In the embodiment ofthe invention shown three yarn ends a are supplied to each rotatingspindle 6, it will be apparent however that either a larger or smaller number of ends may be delivered to each spindle as desired to produce a multiply yarn having the desired number of yarn ends which are twisted together and wound upon the spool 11. The yarn ends a are drawn forward from any suitable source of supply, not shown, and each yarn end a passes around a grooved spool or roller 14 supported by shaft 15.' The yarn ends a for a particular spindle 6 are led from the rollers 14 about an idler roller 16 and then downwardly around the driven feed roller 17. Each roller 16 is relatively short as shown in Fig. 1 and is sup ported by an arm 18 for swinging movement about the arm supporting shaft 19 towards and from the driving roller 17 The roller 17 is relatively long and may extend throughout the entire length of the machine and is driven at a predetermined speed by mechanism not shown but which is well known in twisting and winding machines. Each idler roller 16 is journaled upon a shaft 20 secured to the lever 18, the arrangement being such that the roller 16 when lowered will be driven from the power roller 17 to effect the feeding operation of the yarn ends a and this feeding operation may be arrested by lifting the roller supporting lever 18 so as to movethe upper 77 roller 16 away from the driving roller 17.

"'"The yarn ends a as will be apparent from 3 pass from the driving-roller 17 to a pig-tail or guide 21 which is shown as supported by a pivoted bracket 22 adopted to be swung upwardly out of the way of the spools 11 when they are b'eing'appliedto or removed from the spindles 6. The yarns a pass downwardly from the guide 21 to the traveler 23 which cooperates with the spinning ring 24 in a well known manner, to impart the desired number of twists to the yarn ends as they are delivered to the rapidly rotating spool 11.

The spinning rings 24 are mounted upon a spinning rail 25 as usual and this rail is supported for vertical movement relative to the spools 11 and is adapted to be moved or traversed lengthwise of this spool throughout the winding operation to cause the ply yarns to be wound upon the spools 11 with the desired traverse. As the mechanism for imparting the desired traverse to ring rails is well known in the art of spinning, and since it forms no essential part of the present invention it has been deemed unnecessary to show or describe in detail a traversing mechanism.

As above pointed out it is important to stop the winding operation of a particular spindle when any one of the yarn ends being delivered thereto breaks for if this is not done a thin or defective ply yarn will be wound upon the spindle The present invention therefore con- 1 templates means which will now be described for stopping the rotation of the spindle 6 and also for stopping the cooperating feed roller 16 for delivering the yarn ends a to that particular spindle. This is accomplished in accordance with the present invention by pro- Viding drop wires 26, one for each of the yarn ends a and these drop wires in the. construction shown are disposed between the rollers 14 and the idler roller 16 so that each drop wire is normally held in an elevated position by the tension of the yarn a which passes through an eyelet of the drop wire. The drop wires 26 in the construction shown are pivotally mounted within a casing 27 positioned upon the supporting structure 28 of the twisting and winding frame. The arrangement 1s such that the drop wires are located below a straight line position between the rollers 14 and 16 as shown so that each wire will be held elevated by a yarn end unless the same breaks or becomes too slack, in which case the drop wire will swing downwardly about its pivotal support 29 into engagement with the contact plate 29.

The spindles 6 are supported by antifriction bearings for operation at high speed by the individual motors 7 and as a result they will tend to spin for a substantial length of time after the driving current to a motor is cut off. It is therefore desirable to provide each spindle with a brake for quickly bringing the spindle to rest when the current to its driving motor is cut off. u

A further feature of the present invention therefore resides in a friction brake which is associated with the disc 12 of each spindle 6. In theconstruction shown each brake comprises a lever 30 one end of which is pivoted at 31 to a fixed support 32 which extends upwardly from the rail 2. Each of the levers 30 is shown as having an arc-uate portion 33 adapted to conform to the curvature of the friction disc 12 and the inner arcuate face of the lever is lined with fibre or other frictional material 34. The outer end of each brake lever 30 in the construction shown is operatively connected by a nut or the like 35 to a sliding bar 36 adapted to move the brake lever into and out of frictional engagement with the disc 12.

It will be apparent from the construction so far described that in order to start the operation of twisting and winding the yarn ends a into a several ply yarn it is necessary to re lease the brake 30, start the motor 7 and lower the idler roller 16 sufficiently to effect the feeding operation of the yarn a. It will also be apparent from the foregoing that when a yarn end a-breaks the idler'rollcr 16 for such yarn should be lifted and the corresponding motor 7 should be stopped and the brake 30 should be applied to quickly stop the rotation of the spindle.

An important feature of the present invention therefore resides in a simple form of mechanism for simultaneously controlling the operation of the parts just referred to, whereby the shifting of a handle manually will start the winding operation of the yarn ends a which are supplied to aparticular spindle, and the controlling mechanism will be automatically shifted when a yarn breaks to stop such winding-operation.

These results are accomplished in accord ance with the present invention by providing a control rod 37 for each spindle 6. Each rod 37 is supported for vertical sliding movement and its upper end is slidably supported by the bracket 28 while the intermediate portion of the rod 37 is slidably supported by the rail 3. Each rod 37 in the construction shown is provided near its upper end with a collar or shoulder 38 which is adapted to engage the bracket 28 to arrest the downward movement of-g thejrod, and the upper end of each rod 37 'fis po sitioned to engage the outer end of a roller supporting lever 18. The arrangement is such that when a rod 37 is elevated by means to be described it will raise the lever 18 sufliciently to disengage the idler roller 16 from the driver roller 17 but when the rod 37 is lowered as shown in Fig. 1 the lever 18 resting thereupon will be lowered sufficiently to drive the yarns a passing about the cooperating rollers 16 and 17.

The vertical movement of the rod 37 is controlled in the construction shown by a toggle lever consisting of the upper links 39 which are pivotally secured to the opposite sides of the-rod 37 atO, and the lower links 41 which arep-ivotally supported at their lower ends by thepin 42 thatpasses through anelongated slot 43 in the rod 37 and this nin'fis supported in a fixed position by the brackets 44 mounted upon the rail 3. The overlapping ends of the links 39 and 41 are pivotally connected at 45 to form the toggle connection. The arrangement is such that when the toggle links are moved to the angular position in which they are shown in Fig. 1 the rod 37 will be lowered, and when these links are moved to the relatively straight or locked position of Fig. 3 the rod 37 will be held in its elevated position to thereby arrest the running operation.

Inthe construction. shown the rod 37 is providedat its lower end with a controlling plate 46 which is slidably mounted within the casing 47 and this plate is provided with the inclined slot 48 adapted to cooperate with a roller 49 which is rotatably secured to the traversely sliding bar 36 above mentioned. The arrangement is such that when the control rod 37 is lowered the inclined slot 48 acts upon the roller 49 to shift the bar 36 in a right hand direction viewing Fig. 2. This will serve to release the brake 36 and shift the switch controlling lever 50 connected to the opposite end of the bar 36 so as to rock the switch actuating shaft 51 to operate an electric switch mounted within the casing 52 and adapted to control the current to the motor 7.

When the toggle is shifted to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3 it will raise the rod 37 with the result that the sliding bar 36 will be shifted in a left hand direction viewing Fig. 2 to thereby apply the brake 34 and actuate the switch 51 to cut off the supply of current to the motor 7. The lifting of the rod 37 will also serve to elevate the idler roller 16 as above explained to stop the feeding of the yarn ends a.

As above pointed out one important feature of the present invention resides in means for arresting the winding operation of a particular spindle when one of the several yarn ends supplied thereto becomes broken. This is accomplished in accordance with the pres ent invention by placing each toggle mechanism above described under the control of a solenoid 53 which may be mounted upon the supporting rail 4, and the sliding core 54 of each solenoid is operatively connected by the links 55 to the toggle links. each link 55 in the construction shown being secured to a lower toggle link 41 by the pivot pin 56. The arrangement is such that when a drop wire 26 drops upon'the breakage of its supporting yarn a the fallen drop wire serves to complete an electric circuit, to be described. This excites the solenoid 53 to move the plunger '54 inwardly so that the toggle will e shifted by the links 55 to the locked position of Fig. 3 to elevate the rod 37 and stop the operating parts in the manner above described. After the broken yarn has been con nected by hand and the particular spindle is again ready for operation the toggle link may be manually shifted to its bent position of Fig. 1 by pulling upon the handle 57, the stem 58 of which is slidably supported by the rail 3 and its inner end is secured to a gooseneck 59 formed upon the outer end of one of the links 55.

Each motor 7 is preferably a relatively small constant speed motor and is conveniently operated by a three phase alternating current, one form of wiring for the motor being shown in the diagram of Fig. 5 wherein the alternating current may be supplied from a main line 60 upon closing the hand actuated switch 61. The conductors 62 lead from the hand switch 61 to-the switch box 52 and the motor 7 is connected with the switch box 52 by the conductors 63, the arrangement being such that the operation of the motor 7 is cont-rolled by shifting the switch shaft 51 above described. A solenoid 53 in the construction shown is supplied with current by the conductors 64 and 65 which are connected to two of the three wires 63 leading to the motor 7, the arrangement being such that current will be supplied to the solenoid only when the switch '51 is closed to supply current to the motor 7. The drop wire switch mechanism 27 it should be noted is included in the circuit leading to the solenoid 53 and the wire 65 is shown as connected to the contact plate 29 of the casing 27 while the wire 66 leading from the solenoid 53 is connected to the shaft 29 which supports the drop wires 26. The arrangement is such that when any one of the yarn ends a breaks or becomes too slack the wire 26 controlled thereby will move downwardly under the influence of gravity into engagement with the contact plate 29 to thereby close the circuit in which the solenoid 53 is included, whereupon the solenoid will be excited and will shift the toggle connection from the operating position of Fig. 1 to the stopping position of Fig. 3 to stop the winding operation of the particular spindle which is controlled by the broken yarn end a. The toggle links will remain in this substantially straight or locked position after the operating current to the solenoid is cut oil, and the movement of the toggle links in this direction past the dead center position maybe limited by the stem 58 which is threaded as shown to secure an adjustment that will insure the toggle remaining in its locked position after it has been shifted by the solenoid to stop the winding operation.

It will be seen from the foregoing that each winding unit of the present twisting and winding machine is controlled by the yarn ends being wound by that unit independently of the other winding units, and that when a yarn end breaksthe winding unit for that yarn will stop quickly without disturbing the winding action of the other units or spindles.

switch and control the corresponding yarn advancing means, and electric means controlled by the drop wires to shift said rod and thereby stop the spindle operating motor and yarn advancing means when any one of the yarns being wound upon a spindle breaks.

2. In a twisting and winding machine, in combination, spindles each adapted to sup port and rotate a yarn carrier, a separate electric motor for driving each spindle, a switch for controlling each motor, means for ad vancing a plurality of yarn ends to a motordriven yarn carrier, twister means for twisting the yarn ends delivered to a yarn carrier, a drop wire for each yarn end, a brake for each spindle, a control rod for each spindle adapted to actuate the motor switch, and control'the yarn advancing means and brake for the spindle, and electric means controlled by the drop wires to operate said rod and thereby stop the spindle operating motor and yarn advancing means and apply the brake when any one of the yarns being wound upon a spindle breaks.

3. In a twisting and winding machine, in combination, spindle each adapted to support and rotate a yarn carrier, a separate electric motor'for driving each spindle, means for advancing from a source of supply the yarn ends being wound upon a motor-driven yarn carrier, twister means for twisting the yarn ends, a drop wire for each yarn end, a control rod for each spindle operable to start and stop the motor and the yarn advancing means for the spindle, and electric means controlled by the drop wires to operate said rod and thereby stop the spindle operating -means and brake for the spindle, and a solenoid controlled by the drop wires and adapt ed to actuate said rod to stop the spindle Op erating motor and yarn advancing means and apply the brake when any one of the yarns being Wound breaks.

5. In a twisting and winding machine, in combination, a spindle for supporting and rotating a yarn carrier, an electric motor for driving the spindle, means for advancing from a source of supply the yarn ends being Wound upon the yarn carrier, twister means for twisting the yarn ends delivered to the spindle, a drop wire for each yarn end, an electric circuit controlled by the drop wires and provided with a solenoid, switch means controlled by the solenoid to stop the motor when a yarn breaks, and mechanism operable by said solenoid to stop the yarn advancing means.

6. In a twisting and winding machine, in combination, spindles for supporting and rotating yarn carriers, 2. separate electric motor for driving each spindle, means for advancing from a source of supply the yarn ends being wound upon a motor-driven yarn carrier, twister means for twisting the yarn ends, a toggle link connection movable to one position to start said advancing means and said motor and movable to a second position to stop the advancing means and motor, a drop wire for each yarn end, and means controlled by the drop wires for shifting the toggle to stop the winding operation.

7 In a twisting and winding machine, in combination, spindles forsupporting and rotating yarn carriers, a separate electric motor for driving each spindle, a' brake for each spindle, means for pulling the yarn ends forward from a source of supply, twister means for twisting the yarn ends, a toggle connection movable to one position to releasethe brake and start the motor and said pulling means and movable to a second position to stop the motor and pulling means and apply the brake, a drop wire for each yarn end, and means controlled by the drop wires for shifting the toggle to stop the winding operation.

8. In a twisting and winding machine, in combination, spindles for supporting and rotating yarn carriers, a separate electric motor for driving each spindle, a controlling switch for each motor, twister means for twisting the yarn ends delivered toa yarn carrier, a drop wire for each yarn end, an electric circuit controlled by the drop wires and said switch, and a solenoid including in said motor circuit and operable to open said switch to stop the motor when a yarn breaks.

9. In a twisting and winding machine, in combination, spindles for supporting and rotating yarn carriers, a separate electric motor for driving each spindle, a separate switch for each motor, means for advancing a plurality of yarn ends to a motordriven yarn carrier, twister means for twisting the yarns delivered to a yarn carrier, a drop Wire for each yarn end, an electric circuitcontrolled by the drop wires and said motor switch, a solenoid included in said circuit and operable to open said switch to stop the motor and stop said advancing means when a yarn breaks. i

10. In a twisting and winding machine, in combination, spindles for supporting and rotating yarn carriers, a separate electric motor for driving each spindle, a separate switch for each motor, means for advancing a plurality of yarn ends to a motor-driven yarn carrier, twister means for twisting the yarn delivered to a yarn carrier, a toggle connection for actuating said switch to stop the motor and stop said advancing means, a solenoid for shifting said toggle, a drop wire for each yarn end and included in a cir cuit with the solenoid to actuate the latter when a yarn breaks.

11. In a twisting and winding machine, in combination, spindles each adapted to support and rotate a yarn carrier, a separate electric motor for driving each spindle, a switch for controlling each motor, means for advancing a plurality of yarn ends to a motor-driven yarn carrier, twister means for twisting the yarn ends delivered to a yarn carrier, a drop wire for each yarn end, a control rod for each spindle movable in the direction of its length to operate said motor switch and control the yarn advancing means, a toggle connection movable past its dead centre position to its locked position to maintain the control rod in one predetermined position, and means controlled by the drop wires to shift the toggle to stop the winding operation.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

EDWIN W. STONE. 

